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| Vauban, Freiburg, GERMANY |
There are lots of factors that should be considered in applying the principles of sustainability in the architectural design of a building or a complex development. One of the fundamental factors is that of the scales involved in a sustainable built environment. Without understanding such scales and their impact and interaction with each other, it would be very difficult for us, sustainable architects and designers, to proceed with the proper design of a green building.
OBJECTIVE
For an easy understanding of the audience I am trying to reach out to from all walks of life, such as students, professionals, to homeowners/clients alike, I have compiled information I personally gathered from my work experiences, training, and extensive research. The Sustainable Architecture Certification course I have attended provided just three basic scales (building, site, and region), but I kind of diversified and tried to expand it into five instead, which I believe would help my readers in the proper understanding of the details needed in this subject.
To start it up, the basic scales of the sustainable built environment are the following:
1. Building;
2. Site;
3. Neighborhood;
4. City; and
5. Region
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| FIGURE 1 -A simple diagram of the basic scales of the sustainable built environment |
All of these are deeply interconnected. Decisions made at one scale inevitably influence the others, and sustainable strategies are most effective when they are aligned and integrated across scales. Here’s how they interact:
1. Building Scale
A building's energy efficiency affects citywide energy demand – utilizing renewable energy systems such as solar panels and energy efficient household appliances may help the city to cope up and avoid shortage of energy supply;
Green roofs or rainwater harvesting system – reduces stormwater loads at the site and neighborhood scale. To learn more, please see one of my blog regarding a complete guide for rainwater harvesting system. Link as follows: https://architalktural.blogspot.com/2025/02/rainwater-harvesting-system-complete.html
Material choices affect regional supply chains and waste systems – this is the reason why most of the well-known sustainable architects, such as Hassan Fathy, who uses locally sourced building materials; Le Corbusier, who uses panels; both of whom use less to no energy on transportation.
The scope involved in this particular scale includes materials, energy systems, water use, indoor environment quality. This is how they impact the other scales:
2. Site Scale
In this scale, the scope includes landscape, topography, drainage, microclimate, transportation access, etc. I recently have been involved in the site analysis of a farmland in the southern part of Luzon, Philippines and I believe I could use this as a good example.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided below are covered by the laws governing the fair use policy in general. I prefer not to disclose the name of the project, its location and the stakeholders’ personal information to protect privacy. The excerpts are for educational purposes only to supplement the blog and not intended as professional advice.
Our findings during our ocular site inspection are stated in an excerpt of the submitted Site Analysis Report as follows:
Purpose
of Inspection
General
Site Conditions
Observations
and Findings
The purpose of this ocular site inspection is to assess the condition of the property’s site condition such as the accessibility, physical locations of existing vegetation, structures, actual ground terrain, hills, plain and slanting grounds, bodies of water, etc.; verification of coordinates to create satellite photo analysis; all of which to help the planning team find appropriate locations for each facilities and create a functional site development plan. The inspection was also conducted in order to identify any areas requiring immediate attention or remediation and determine appropriate project scheduling.
Accessibility: Site is currently accessible from the road with no major obstacles or restrictions.
Surrounding Environment: Surrounding neighborhood seems to be manageable.
Earthwork: Even though the lot area is multi-level with sloping terrains and some hilly areas, the area is generally plain with very minimal to no requirement for slope protection. The high altitude of the location is assessed to be risk-free from other hazards such as flooding, sea level rise, erosion, landslide, or liquefaction.
Utilities: The presence of the existing structures along the road provides assurance that electricity, water supply, and plumbing items are available in the area.
Safety Hazards: Currently, no potential safety issues have been identified.
Security Hazards: The property requires proper fencing with a gate prior to or during the construction stage.
Code Violations: Compliance with local regulations or building codes is yet to be determined.
Environmental Concerns: No environmental issues yet, such as water drainage, waste disposal, environmental contamination, etc. However, since animal farming is the main activity to be conducted, the planning team will determine these issues during the planning stage.
Overall, the site is in stable condition, with a few minor issues requiring attention in the short term, such as immediate construction of fencing and a gate, together with some scattered minor site clearing. This has to be done while the planning team is working on the technical matters of the project. Currently, no major structural or safety concerns have been identified yet, but it is recommended that the above suggestions be made to ensure the site remains functional and favorable while the planning stage is being conducted.
Other site scale’s Interaction with other scales of sustainable built environment:
Site design (like permeable surfaces) - contributes to neighborhood flood resilience.
Solar orientation and landscaping - can boost building performance.
Transportation links - tie into citywide mobility networks.
3. Neighborhood Scale
The scope at this scale includes land use, population density, mobility, shared infrastructure, social connectivity, etc. With regards to the land use, there are certain laws that govern this subject in the Philippines. You can check this out in one of my blogs entitled “List of Laws Essential to the Practice of Architecture in the Philippines”. Here is the link: https://architalktural.blogspot.com/2024/02/list-of-laws-essential-to-practice-of.html . Other factors could be determined through research or ocular inspections.
Here are some additional information from the Sustainable Architecture course I attended online through Alison, the following advantages of sustainable neighborhood are enumerated:
1. Design on a human scale;
2. Provide choices;
3. Encourage mixed-use development;
4. Vary transportation options;
5. Build vibrant spaces;
6. Create identity; and
7. Conserve landscapes.
Other site scale’s Interaction with other scales of sustainable built environment:
Walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods - reduce regional car dependency.
Shared energy or waste systems - benefit building sustainability.
Local green spaces - support site and building health outcomes.
4. City Scale
The scope at this scale includes infrastructure systems (energy, transport, waste), zoning, housing policy, economic planning. Such information can be obtained by visiting the city’s main office or city hall. Usually the building official’s office have everything you will need while conducting planning for your projects.
Other site scale’s interaction and impact with other scales of sustainable built environment:
Urban policy - drives neighborhood design standards and building codes.
Citywide transit investments - impact site selection and building accessibility.
Data from buildings (smart meters, sensors) - can inform city energy policy.
5. Regional Scale
The largest scale is the regional scale which includes watersheds, ecosystems, climate zones, transportation corridors, resource management. From the Sustainable Architecture course I attended, the following similar scope items are enumerated as follows:
1. Climatic conditions;
2. Topography/terrain;
3. Vegetation;
4. Water Resources;
5. Land as a resource; and
6. Connectivity
Such information required whenever planning is conducted for building or complex projects can be obtained from regional offices or some city halls. However, if available, some of these can be obtained online through the region’s website.
Interaction:
Regional climate - dictates building design strategies (e.g., passive cooling).
Watershed protection policies - influence site drainage and neighborhood planning.
Regional transit - affects city form and neighborhood structure.
Here is a holistic example of an ongoing scenario where certain environmental policies are being implemented in a city as a whole, which affects all scales of the sustainable built environment:
A city enforces green building codes → Buildings adopt solar panels → Local energy demand shifts → City upgrades its grid → Regional emissions decrease → Better air quality improves public health at all scales.
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| The Edge, Amsterdam |
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| Bullitt Center, Seattle |
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Sustainable architecture is a subset of sustainable development. Architecture is a social and economic exercise that leads to environmental impact and in turn is affected by it, and so it has to respond to all these in a balanced manner. The primary principle is to understand the sustainable built environment as a system that comprises various scales. Therefore it is imperative that all sustainable architects must learn these scales and their impacts first before proceeding with the planning and design of green buildings.
JOEY CASTANEDA
Sustainable Architect
Link in account for architectural works.
Photos, diagram and table attribution:
The Edge, Amsterdam (MrAronymous, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Bullitt Center, Seattle (Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Vauban, Freiburg (Andreas Schwarzkopf, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Figure 1 - uploaded by Bernhard Pucher on Researchgate website (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Three-scales-of-NBS-implementation-in-the-built-environment-green-building-materials_fig1_337737446)
Table 1: Sustainable Built Environment: Practices by Scale (AI info, ChatGPT)